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Getting a new account ready to work

3 min read · By Stefan Köhn

Four decisions come first, and they build on one another. Here they are in the order in which they hold each other up.

Why the order matters

Start at the back and you build twice. An automation that sends email stands still without an outgoing mail account. A rule that splits by postcode needs a field for the postcode. And a process can only be drawn once you know which details a record carries at all.

Fields first

Create the entity and describe what a record consists of. One question decides everything here: what do you want to search, filter, sort or route by later? Anything that lands in a free text box cannot be evaluated. A separate field for the postcode costs a minute once and makes every later report possible. See Entities.

Then the process

A pipeline maps your process as a row of stages, such as New, Contacted, Quoted, Won, Lost. The board shows each stage as a column and each record as a card in it. Take the stages you really tell apart: two columns nobody ever moves anything between are one too many. See Pipelines.

Then the team

You invite colleagues by email address; they set their own password. Every invitation carries a role, and the role decides what someone may see and change. Administrator, Agent and Analyst come with the account, and you can add your own. See Team and Roles and rights.

Sending last

For messages to go out in your name, add an outgoing mail account in your account settings with the credentials from your mail provider. Without it the automation step Send email cannot even be picked, and bulk email does not go out. Invitations and password links run through the system sender anyway, see Outgoing mail.

Step by step

  1. Create the entity and describe its fields.
  2. Set up a pipeline with the stages of your process.
  3. Invite the team and hand out roles.
  4. Add the outgoing mail account in your account settings.
  5. Connect a source and put one test record through it.

How long does setting up take?

For an account with one entity, one pipeline and a handful of fields, a morning is enough. What takes longer is deciding which stages you really need, never the typing.

Can I change fields later?

New fields can be added at any time. Changing a field type needs care, because existing values have to fit the new type; the application shows you beforehand what would be affected.

Should I import my records first?

Better not. An import writes into fields that have to exist by then. Entity first, import second. See Bringing data in.

What if I do not have an outgoing mail account yet?

Then everything works except your own sending. Records arrive, the board works, automations run. Only the steps that send a message show in the catalogue as not yet set up. See Outgoing mail.

Which role should a new colleague get?

Agent, when in doubt. That lets them work on records without changing the setup. Administrator belongs to whoever may change fields, pipelines and permissions. See Roles and rights.